Box and lid stop



- e. STILWELL 1 2,397,217

4 Q 7 Box ANDLID 51301 Filed Kay 14, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Marth 6, 19 G. E. STlLlWELL ox AND LID STOP I 3 She ets-Sheet 2 Filed May 14, 1945 Patented Mar. 26, 1946 1- "T 7 BOX AND LID STOP" Glenn E. Stilwell, Riverside,..Calif., assignor to. Food Machinery Corporation, San Jose, Calif.; a corporation of Delaware V a Application May 14 1943, Serial No. 487,008

9 Claims.

This invention relates to nailing machines and ularly to such machines as are employed for apr lyinglids to boxes.

A common type of nailing machine for lidding boxes drives all the nails in the lid atone time; To assist in locating a box in such a machine in preparation for liddingthe same, stops. are ordinarily provided against which the box. is moved. Other stop means is also provided against which the lid may be placed to properly position this over the box. The nailing mechanism is then actuated which nails the lid onto the box. a

It is an object of my invention to provide a combined stop means which will not only posi-v tion the box as aforesaid, but which will also position the lid.

It has been found advantageous to incorporate in nailing machines as aforesaid some means whereby they may be adjusted for the lidding of boxes of different sizes. This introduces a problem of adapting the stop means for the box and for the lid for each readjustment of the machine to lid a different sized box. 1 c

It is an object of my invention to provide; a relatively simple and easily adjustable box and. lid stop means which may be incorporated in-an adjustable lid nailing machine. I

The manner of accomplishing the ;foregoing objects as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: r

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of a substantial upper portion of a nailing machine in which is incorporated a preferred embodimentoi my invention, a box and lid being shown positioned in said machine in readiness for liddingr V Fig. 2 is an enlarged front three-quarters perspective view of the stop device itself of'said invention. 7

Fig. 3 is a similar rear three-quarters perspective view of said stop device. p j c 7 i Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 with, the box-and lid ready for the nailing operation to start.

Fig. 5 is, a detail sectional view takenon the line 5'5' of Fig. l. and shows thebox supported on the conveyor wheels above the nailing anvil. Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary operational the positions of the operative parts upon the return upward of the nail drivingmeans to its extreme upwardmost position;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 and illustrates the discharge of a lidded box from the machine and'the delivery of a new box to be lidded, to said machine. I

Fig. 9'is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. '7 and illustrates the lid flushing devices Just before these are brought into contact-with'side edges oia lid'inthe initial phase of alid nailing operation. V

Referring specifically to the drawings'a nailing machine I0 is illustrated therein which includes a frame l'l having side standards 12 joined by box support-I-beam members l3 and by a base (not shown) for supporting the machine and on which ismounted a motor (not shown) for driving the machine. I I v The frame also includes a rod H! (see Figs. 1;

, and 4) which is parallel with and lies between the members 13. Slideable in the inner channels of theI-beam members [3 and on the rod is a pair of cross beams 20 which carry threaded conveyor-supporting posts 2|, the latter being adjustable vertically on the beams 20 by manipulation of nuts- 22. The beams 20 are adjustable to wards and away from each other and are adapted to be held in any relation thus accomplished'by set screws 23 (see Fig. 4). e V

Mounted on the upper ends of the pair of posts 2| on eachof the cross beams 20 a conveyor track 24 havingwheels 25, these tracks combin ing to form a two-track conveyor 26. The vertical adjustability of the posts 2| and the free lateral adjustability of the beams 20. just described, permits the two tracks 24 to be selectively view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1 and illus trates the positions of the operative parts at the moment of the extreme downwardmost movement of the nailing means.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 and illustrates located in the machine It) for handling boxes of any sizewithin a wide range of sizes.

The wheels 25 may be fixed on the tracks 24, but in eachtrack 24 they'arepreferably mounted on a separate-angle iron 21 which is held'up by compression springs 28 applied thereto by bolts 29 which extend upwardly through the angle iron 21 and are tapped into suitable holes in the track 24.

Mounted on the frame H above the conveyor 26 is a nailing mechanism 35. This mechanism includes anail-driving cross head 36 which is adapted'to be reciprocated downwardly and upwardly by pitmans 31, the latter being actuated by the drive mechanism aforementioned which is not shown inthe drawings but the construction and operation of which is well known in the art The cross head 36 carries rods 38 which are vertically slideable therein and have guides 39 at their lower ends which are guided on the frame side standards l2 during reciprocation of the cross head 36. Adjustably mounted on the cross head 36 and extending vertically downwardly therefrom are nail drivers 40.

tedon the guides 39 s rectaneula nail chucksupporting frame 50 having clamp rails 5| formed along its front and rear edges for supporting-clamps 52 each pair of which is adapted to adjustably support on the frame 50 a pair of chuck mounting bars 53. Mounted between the. bars of each of these pairs is a row of nail chucks 58 one of the drivers 40 being slideably. diSDQsed in each of these chucks. Nails are adapted to be delivered to the several chucks 58 throughflexible tubes 59 which are supported on the frame BO by brackets 60. Nails are delivered to the upper ends of the tubes 59 by a nail picking mechanism (not shown) which is supported on theitop of the frame If, the construction and operation of this being well known in the art.

vEach of the chucks 58 is preferably provided with a side lid fiusher 65which is pivotally mounted on the chuck as shown in Fig. 9 in an adjustable position determined by a set screw 66 and yieldably held inward against this chuck by a spring 67.

Slideably mounted between the bars 53 of each of the pairs of these carried by the frame 50 isa stop mechanism 10. Each of these mechanisms 10 includes a body H having notches .12 and clamps 13 adjacent its upper end for adjustably securing the mechanism in a desired adjusted position on the bars 53 with which the mechanism is associated. The body H has a channel 14 covered by a plate 15 and has ears 16 extending rearwardly from the lower end thereof. The body alsohas provided therein front and rear spring mounting pins 11 and 18.

Vertically slideable in the channel 14 is a box and'l-idstop 80- having stop shoulder 8| at its upper end and a stop pin 82 nearits lower end to limit its verticalmovement in the channel 14. A pin 83 provided in the shoulder 81 is connected to thepin 11 by a contractile springMso as to yieldably urge the stop -80,toward s its downward most position in the body 11 v as shown in Figs. 2- and 3. The lower end or the stop 80 is provided with a rearwardly disposed cam face 8 5 and each of the stops has mounted thereon at its lower end a roller 86, this roller on each of thestops 80 being preferably disposed inwardly towards the mid-. dle of the machine l0. f

Pivoted at its upper and between the cars 73 and yieldably held inwardly by a contractile spring 90 connected to the pin [8V is a latch 9'! the lower e f wh h h a la ch, s lder '2 whi h is rounded to ride over the cam face 85' onthe lower end of the stop 80 and to be pulled inwardly bene th thi s p y he s ing 9 hen he s op slides upwardly in the channel asufiicient dis-. tance to permit this, 7

The adjustability of the conveyor and the nailing mechanism 35 of the machine (0 adapt this for lidding boxes of a wide variety of sizes.

For illustrative purposes themachine is show-n in the drawingsas when liddingabox B by nailing a lid L on this box. Before undertaking to lid a box of this size or of any other size the tracks 24 are at the right he ht to support this box so that when the nailing mechanism 35 is at the bottom of its reoiprocatory movement the drivers 40 just abars53flto stop each box when it is placed in the machine and each lid when it is placed on top of this box so that when the nailing mechanism movesdownwardly the lid will be properly nailed onto the box. This adjustment of the stop mechanism is readily accomplished by a'ma ipulation V of the clamps 13.. I

When the machine it is? thus adjusted asfor lidding a box B one of these boxes. is fed into the machine as shown in Fig. 4, by pushing this along the conveyor 26 until the rear'upper corners of this box contactthe lower ends of theist'opstifl; A lid L is then pressed into place over this boxB' until the lid also engages lthesefstops as shown' in' Fig. 4. The drive mechanism ('not shownyisn'ow actuated so as to causea vertical reciprocation of the nailing mechanism'35 relative to the conveyor- 26. As the downward movement of the hailing mechanism starts, the flushers- 651 (see-"Fig. 9),

move into contactw'ith sid'e'edg'es" ofthe lid 12" 58 come downwardlyon "the lid afid the-clr iver'sdrive the nails'from the chucks"through' the lid and into the box B-as shown in'Fig} 6. 7 T I Being fixed upon bar's 5 3 the body ll of leach of the stop mechanisms 'IO traVels downwar y and upwardly with these bars in the' recipro tor'y' motion of thenailin'g mechanismi Be t; slideable in thefcharihels 'i l," however; the-stops respond to contact; of the-pins' 82; withjthe lid L to slide upwardlyrelative to-the-bodies-1las shown in Fig 6. Her'e'it isseen' that 'th'e sholi ders 92 of the latches M of the stop mechanism H! are pulled inwardly by thespringstfl bene hf the lower ends of the stopsflf'softhatfwhn the nailing mechanism returns upwardly in fthe'seg'i ondhalf of its -reciprocatory-motion the stops 8!) are lifted above the lid Lof'ithe liddecl box-Basi charged the lidded box- B-strikes tl lledower t e f the latches 9| so as to shift these out from togathe stops 80. This-permits these stops to be urged downwardly by their springs 84" to bring th'e stop rollers 86 into contact with the 't'op of tlre:lidjit When the lidded' box 3 ass s o -ttoht u'hder the stops 80 these are returned-to their do 1 wardmost position by-the spr-ings-84 at" ows n Fig. 8, in readiness to halt arid'ptoteny: position for 'lidding a new box 0* which is' introduced into".

the machine as shown in Figs, following the lidding of box 3. The box B of course; continues out from u derthe latches" 9 l of the conveyor 26 must be positioned so that they returned by theinspr in'g's-9U into theih ho'rfiial 'o-that these are position contacting the cam faces 85 of the stops 80 as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. I

From the foregoing description it is believed manifest that my invention has numerous advantages. It provides an inexpensive and efiicient stop means for both a box and a lid in a lid nailing machine. The stop mechanism of my invention is particularly useful where the lidding machine is adjustable to handle boxes of different sizes as the expansion of the machine to fit these boxes carries the stop mechanism right with it, so that this is always properly related to the boxes with a minimum of adjustment being required to take care of the stops.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for working on boxes, the combination of: a support means for receiving a box; overhead means disposed above said support means; stop means provided on said overhead means and extending downwardly therefrom into a path along which a box delivered into said machine is adapted to be discharged, said stop means halting said box in a proper position to be worked upon; means causing relative reciprocatory movement between said support means and said overhead means to perform-an operation on said box;

means responsive to said reciprocatory movement to withhold said stop means from said path thereby permitting said box when it is started along said path following said operation to bypass said stop means; and release means extending into said path so as to be engaged by said box to release said stop means and permit the latter to return into said path after the discharge of said box from said machine.

2. In a machine for working on boxes, the combination of: a support means for receiving a box; overhead means disposed above said support means; stop means provided on said overhead means and extending downwardly therefrom into a path along which a box delivered into said machine is adapted to be discharged, said stop means halting said box in a proper position to be worked upon, said stop means being vertically slideable on said overhead means; means causing relative reciprocatory movement between said support means and said overhead means to perform an operation on said box; means on said stop means engaged by said box during said reciprocatory movement to cause relative sliding movement between said stop means and said overhead means during the initial half of said reciprocatory movement; and latch means for preventing a return movement of said stop means relative to said overhead means during the sec-' ond-half of said reciprocatory movement to cause said stop means to be disposed out of said path thereby permitting said box to be discharged from said machine along said path.

3. In a machine forworking on boxes, the combination of: a support means for receiving a box; overhead means disposed above said support means; stop means provided on said overhead means and extending downwardly therefrom into a path along which a box delivered into said machine is adapted to be discharged, said stop means halting said box in a proper position to be worked upon, said stop means bein vertically slideable on said overhead means; means causing relative reciprocatory movement between said support means and said overhead means to perform an operation on said box; means on said stop means engaged by said box during said reciprocatory movement to cause relative sliding movement be-.

tween said stop means and said overhead means during the initial half of said reciprocatory movement; and latch means for preventing a return movement of said stop means relative to said overhead means during the second half of said reciprocatory movement to cause said stop means to be disposed out of said path thereby permitting said box to be discharged from said machine along said path, said latch means extending into said path so as to be engaged by said box when the latter is discharged from said machine along said path to free said stop means and allow the latter to return into said path to stop the next box delivered to said machine in proper position to be worked upon.

4. In a lidder the combination of: support means for receiving a box; overhead means; means causing relative vertical movement between said overhead means and said support means to bring said overhead means against a lid disposed over said box to press said lid against said box; stop means vertically slideable on said overhead means and normally disposed to stop a box and a lid therefor in said lidder in proper position for lidding said box; and means mounted on said overhead means for engaging said stop means during relative vertical movement between said support means and overhead means incidental to a lidding operation to withdraw said stop means from the position in which it would intercept the discharge of the lidded box in the same direction in which said box was moved against said stop means.

5. In a machine for working on boxes, the combination of a support means for receiving a box; overhead means disposed above said support means; stop means provided on said overhead means and extending downwardly therefrom into the path of a box delivered into said machine, to stop said box in aproper position to be worked upon; means causing relative reciprocatory movement between said support means and said overhead means to perform an operation on said box; means adapted to cooperate'with a box in said machine to cause relative vertical movement between said stop means and said overhead means during the initial half of said reciprocatory movement; and means for preventing relative vertical movement between 'said stop means and said overhead means during the second half.

box in the same direction in which it was moved against said stop means. a

6. In a nailing machine for lidding boxes, the combination of: a frame; box support means on said frame; a nailing mechanism disposed above said support means and adapted to nail a lid on a box resting on said support means, said mechanism including a head carrying two pairs of spaced bars, a set of nail chucks adjustably mounted between the bars of each of said pairs; two stops, one of which is adjustably mounted between the bars of each of said pairs, said stops extending downwardly a suificient distance to engage and properly position in said machine a box and a lid for the lidding of said box; and means for causing relative reciprocatory movement between said support means and said nailing mechanism to drive nails from said chucks through said lid and into said box.

7. A combination as in claim 6 in which said stops when positioning a box and lid as aforesaid, extend into a path along which said box is adapted to be discharged from said machine after being: lidded: and means responsive to said:recip .rocatory "movement for withholding said stops from said path to permit the discharge of said box from said machine.

8,. In a nailing machine for liddingboxes, the combination of: a frame; a two-track box comveyer forsupporting: boxesin ,said' machine; a nailing mechanism disposed above said conveyer,

said mechanism including a head carrying two charged after being lidded; means for causing relative reciprocatory movement between said conveyer and saidfnail mechanism to drive nails from said chucks through said lid and into said box; and means responsive to. said reciprocatory movement to withhold said stops from said path and permit the discharge of the lidded box along said path.

9. In a nailing machine for lidding boxes, the

combination .of-a' apf-rame a two -tracknbox: icon veyer for supporting-boxes in said machinesa nailing-mechanism disposed above said iconveyer, saidiimechanism" including. a head carrying. two gangslof nai-l chucka'and two stops onelof which is assembled with each." of said gangs, the chucks and'thegstop-in each gang being adjustably spaced from eachfother; 113116 spacing of said gangs and said stops on saidhead being also adjustable,

and'a' 'driver-crosshead carrying driverswhich are adjustab ositioned thereon for driving nails from said chucks,v saidi stopsjextending downwardly into the path Tof a box resting on said conveyer and along which said box is adapted to be discharged after being iidded; meansfor causing relative .recipr ocatoryimovement'tbetween said conveyerand said nail mechanism tozdrive from said chucks through said lid and into sam bnx; ineans"responsive to said reciprocatory movement :to withhold 'said stops from" said path andpermit thesdis'ch'arge of the *lidd'edibox alon said path g and mea'ns responsive to the discharge of said iiddedboxto' release said stops from said withholding means, thereby permitting-said stops to-return into said path to properly position the next box and lid delivered to the said machine t b d, i 

